The Freedom From Religion Foundation is commending a Colorado school district for cancelling its attendance at an upcoming sermonizing session that an evangelical group is a key part of.
The Todd Becker Foundation, a Christian ministry, is scheduled to appear at a Burlington Middle School Assembly on Nov. 28. This week, FFRF sent letters to the Burlington School District and several area school districts scheduled to attend the event, warning them that it will involve members of the Todd Becker Foundation reading from the bible and praying with students in violation of the Establishment Clause. The school systems slated to be present at the event have included Cheyenne County School District, Hi-Plains School District, Kit Carson School District, and the Arriba-Flagler School District Today, FFRF has learned that the Cheyenne County School District will no longer be sending its students to this religious assembly.
FFRF is now even more insistent that any public school district scheduled to attend this event must cancel, including the Burlington School District that is hosting the affair. Shockingly, Burlington School District Superintendent Tom Satterly signed an agreement with the Todd Becker Foundation that allowed representatives of the group to read the bible and pray with students.
“The Cheyenne County School District has engaged in a praiseworthy move, and it is now imperative for the other school districts to follow its lead,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.
The Todd Becker Foundation travels throughout the Midwest and the Rocky Mountain states putting on assemblies in public schools with the explicit purpose of converting students to its brand of evangelical Christianity. Oftentimes, it infiltrates public schools under the guise of offering a secular presentation, despite its purpose being laid out in no uncertain terms on its website.
If any local parents are concerned with the Todd Becker Foundation’s behavior in Burlington, they are encouraged to contact the Freedom From Religion Foundation at 608-256-8900 or by filling out a legal complaint on our website.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with more than 32,000 members and several chapters across the country, including over 800 members in Colorado and chapters in Denver and Colorado Springs. FFRF’s purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.